Running For A Kidney, Eh?

When my mom asked me to be the inaugural guest blogger, I was honored but with it came a great deal of pressure. This blog has taken off in a way that we never really expected, and especially in such a short period of time. Thanks to all of you spreading the word and my mom’s wonderful writing, this blog is now being followed by many people who have never even met Ken or as I know him, Pops. The pressure was now on me to deliver a strong blog entry. This past Sunday, my wife, Camille, and I ran a marathon in Vancouver in support of “A Kidney For Ken,” and over that beautiful and often brutal 26.2 mile stretch I had lots of time to think about what I wanted to write. 

For a non-runner like me, running a marathon is a crazy experience. You train for months over end running mileage that should be reserved for cars. And finally when the day comes, you are excited, nervous, afraid, and somewhat questioning your sanity. Your body literally shuts down at mile 20 and you just have to figure out how to push through it. But in the midst of that pain from hitting “the wall,” you are surrounded by strangers lined up down every street and around every corner cheering for you. Camille and I wore our custom made “A Kidney For Ken” shirts (pictured on right) so our cheers were even more personal. People were high fiving us, cheering “Go A Kidney For Ken! You’re doing great!” I was even cheered for as if I was Ken, which I didn’t mind in the least. I can see why people run marathons over and over. The sense of community is something very special, and the support and love you receive from thousands of strangers in those few hours on the course is simply amazing. It is the same things that make this blog so special. As I mentioned earlier, “A Kidney for Ken” is now being followed by people that have never met Ken, but believe in the cause and have decided to follow the journey. So at about mile 22, it occurred to me what I needed to write. I wanted to shed some light on who Ken (aka Pops) is, and for some of you out there introduce him for the first time. And I thought I could best do that by sharing a recent story.

Over Christmas 2010, I came home to New Orleans to spend time with my family and was unusually on edge. I had an engagement ring in my pocket, and was planning to pop the question to Camille on New Year’s Eve. On top of that, I was planning to ask Pops to be my best man. I was a ball of nerves. The night I arrived, I didn’t want to wait until I was engaged and so I asked Pops right then and there to be my best man. He of course said yes and we talked about my proposal strategy and the fact that the wedding next year would likely be a destination wedding in Park City, a city very special to Camille and her family. We were both very excited, to say the least. A few days before I was hopping on a plane back to California to go propose to Camille, I went with Pops to his nephrology check up appointment. It was all bad news. His kidney functioning levels were dropping at an astoundingly quick rate and for the first time ever the dreaded “dialysis” word was discussed as a near certainty along with a discussion on having family members tested as potential donors. His kidneys were failing fast, and the future looked bleak. After the appointment, we stood quietly at the check-out desk waiting on some paperwork. I looked over and saw that Pops was fighting back tears. I could understand. He had been fighting this disease for so many years and winning. And now in one fell swoop, everything was up in the air. How quickly would he be on dialysis? Would we find any donors in the family? What are the options for dialysis? What are the risks of transplant surgery? How was his quality of life about to change? Just question after question filled my head. Surely this was why his eyes were full of tears. But when I questioned him about it, I was completely blown away. He only had one concern and one concern only. Would he be healthy enough to stand as the best man in his son’s wedding? And that right there best sums up the kind of father, husband, brother, friend, and man that Ken is. And on September 3^rd last year in Park City, with a dialysis machine set up back at the hotel, he in fact stood as the best man in my wedding and continues to be the best man in my life. 

Thanks to everyone for continuing to support this blog. If you like the shirts that Camille and I wore for the marathon and would like one, please email us at akidneyforken@gmail.com. We have received many comments from people interested in the shirts so we may have the printing company do another batch for us. Just let us know of your interest.

Until next week may the Lord carry us on our journey for a kidney for Ken,

Greg